Bespoke motorhomes from RS Motorhomes are made to fit you, and now Practical Motorhome’s Mike Le Caplain reviews the luxurious Endeavour R230G

Overview

RS originally made its name selling gigantic coach-sized RVs to devotees of motorsport

Ask most motorhome manufacturers to deviate from their strict standard specifications beyond requesting different upholstery or perhaps a towbar, and chances are you’ll get short shrift.

Time is money, and no manufacturer wants to interrupt valuable production schedules just so that Mr and Mrs Miggins can have their new motorhome built on a Chevy V10 base vehicle and kitted out with hammock beds and fluorescent orange carpets.

However, there are companies out there who will, within reason, grant you a surprising amount of latitude – if your bank balance is up to the job.

One such is RS Motorhomes in Harworth. And while you’ll probably still have to whistle for your hammock beds, RS will happily accommodate rather more sensible demands.

RS originally made its name selling gigantic coach-sized RVs to devotees of motorsport, and its show models regularly had garages fitted with either tyre racks and compressors or a dinky little Smart FourTwo. And, while the company still specialises in this rarefied end of the market, it is gradually beginning to focus an increasing amount of attention on more prosaic machinery; albeit still with a weather eye on that all-important subject of accommodating unusual customer demands.

And this latest Endeavour is an excellent case in point. Straight away, the Iveco base vehicle stands out as being something a little unusual. In this particular iteration, the R230G, it’s the latest 3.0-litre turbodiesel LWB model, packing an automatic gearbox. This may improve driveability (in the case of this particular example, it’s an essential upgrade, more on which in a moment), but necessitates the 170bhp engine rather than the 210bhp unit you get with the stick-shift manual.

It’s certainly an imposing beast, with a huge bespoke GRP body that’s so vast as to almost dwarf the not-inconsiderable cab up front. In fact, you could argue that this sort of XXL-sized body really ought to be on a tag-axle chassis: that rear overhang looks as though it could be a bit of a handful should its new owner ever have cause to board a cross-Channel ferry.

However, it certainly doesn’t feel unwieldy on the road and there’s no sense of rear-heaviness or wayward handling, even when you’re being passed by lorries. Much of this good behaviour can, we suspect, be put down to the fact that, all-up, this behemoth weighs in at a cool 7200kg – that’s just 300kg shy of what most B+E licence holders can legally drive without taking an additional test – with a fair chunk of that payload no doubt allocated to the simply gargantuan rear garage. In this particular instance, it’s equipped with ample lighting, a smattering of lashing points and grippy flooring. Rest assured that there’s room enough in there for all manner of gear – even a mobility scooter.

Design

Another jumbo-sized door – this one the main habitation entrance door – hints at the special requirements demanded by this particular example’s new owner. Opening it up confirms this, because you’re presented with a Palfinger wheelchair lift, complete with wired remote control. This remarkable piece of engineering gets a wheelchair user up to habitation floor level quietly and in a matter of seconds. It’s hugely impressive, but all in a day’s work for RS’s design and build teams.

Lounging & dining

Step aboard the R230G and you’re faced with a traditional single Pullman dinette opposite a good-sized three- to four-seater settee, which slides out to create a comfortable bed big enough to serve as a king-sized single or a decent double. The Pullman opposite is equipped, on this example, with forward and rear-facing travel seats, and it’s all swathed in sumptuous leather.

Kitchen

Further back, the offside kitchen is fairly bristling with drawers (eight of them, in fact) and roof lockers, and the already generous worktop space is bolstered still further by a slide-out extension. Equipment includes a full cooker and, opposite, a true fridge/freezer and microwave oven.

Sleeping

The overcab double bed is augmented out back by a simply enormous double bed over the garage, complete with fitted flatscreen TV.

Washroom

The midships washroom is, again on this example, designed specifically for wheelchair use, and comprises a huge wetroom kitted out with a folding seat and island toilet on the offside, opposite a nearside vanity unit equipped with a large washbasin and a good amount of storage.

Technical specs

Layout

Garage bed

Sleeps

6

Travel seats

6

Length

9.14m

29′12″

Width

2.66m

8′9″

Height

3.4m

11′2″

Engine (capacity)

3000

Engine (power)

210

Fresh/waste water

334L / 265L

External Options

GRP sidewalls

Kitchen Equipment

Dometic Fridge, 4-burner gas hob, Oven, Separate grill, Microwave

Verdict

So, what's our verdict on the RS Endeavour R230G? It’s difficult to judge such a bespoke-designed ’van as this in objective terms, but it serves to demonstrate the lengths to which RS will go to meet customers’ specific needs.